Home at Last

It's over. After five and a half months abroad I'm home. My time in Asia has been filled with unforgettable memories, forever friendships (Hattie & Haley adventures all day every day), and a lot of crossing off of the bucket list.

My emotions were all over the place once I got home. Partly from pure exhaustion (Asia jet lag really isn't fun) and partly because it is finally starting to hit me that I will never get to experience another semester quite like the one I had at City U. Senior year is creeping closer, I'll experience "Big Girl World" this summer in Chicago, and I'm finally starting to realize that the end of college really does mean i'm growing up!

Fun fact- reverse culture shock is a real thing. You would have thought that with all of my travel experience and living in different continents multiple times during my life would lessen the effects- NOT TRUE!

First things I noticed once landing in Chicago...

1. Americans really are fat- Everyone I saw was scoffing McDonalds (I can't really talk after all of the McDonalds delivery purchased in HK, but seriously compared to the tiny Hong Kongers everyone looked ginormous!)  
2. Tipping is a huge inconvenience on my wallet. Having not tipped in over 5 months writing and calculating a gratuity for my first American meal was a bit of a downer. 
3. Service in the U.S. is phenomenal. Not only did my food arrive promptly, but I was also checked on multiple times throughout my meal, water was consistently refilled, and the entire restaurant was spotless. To be honest all of the questions ("how does it taste?", "can I get you anything else?", "more water?") got a little obnoxious seeing as I'm not used to that anymore. 
4. My data plan finally works again and I can talk to everyone at a normal hour without calculating the time difference! 

It feels great to be home, but I'm definitely nostalgic thinking about how long it will be before I get to return to magical Asia land and explore more parts of the world that I have never experienced. Lots was checked off of the bucket list this semester, I return home with a Hong Kong battle wound (7 stitches on the left ankle), and one of the best friends any girl could ask for.

When I look back to my spontaneous decision to study abroad in Hong Kong and how "on the fence" I was about even going I have to laugh a little. I wouldn't change my semester abroad for anything. 

More Visitors

With only a few short weeks left there is lots left to squeeze in. Of course, having a few more visitors helps make the excuse for day trips and spending money on things I usually wouldn't. This past weekend Danna and Luna came to visit and we packed their short stay full of Hong Kong "must-dos".

Sunday afternoon was spent exploring Central and TST. First stop on the tour was a Star Ferry ride to TST. Luna was desperate to see the giant rubber duck! Next, I took the girls to the Avenue of Stars where we were stopped by some locals for a picture of the strange red-headed girl and the strange tall girl, and then we walked up Canton Road and to the park with Flamingos. The park was something on my Hong Kong bucket list, and it was honestly a nice way to escape the heat for a little. We all got an ice-cream from the McDonalds dessert stand and gave our feet a rest.

The rest of our time in Hong Kong was spent exploring Mong Kok and visiting a Korean makeup store (because that makes so much sense in Hong Kong), eating way too much food at Paisianos, and showing Dans and Luns one of the many study-abroad perks- Billy Boozers!

A little more time was spent at Stanley where we all took in the sun and appreciated getting out of the busy city for just a few short hours. I also made a final trip to the peak. Of course the unpredictable May weather was not on our side and the fabulous views the peak are supposed to offer were completely fogged over.

After two quick days in Hong Kong, we said goodbye and headed to Macau for the day. Dans and Luns were flying out of Macau to Thailand and I figured I'd make the day trip to the casino island just for a little bit  more exploring before heading back to the U.S.

Macau wasn't much to talk about, but the egg tarts were delicious! It's also pretty amazing that Macau grosses more than the infamous Las Vegas! This of course makes sense when you look at the "fun money" most Asians have....

Crazy streets

 

MGM

 

A quick, but great trip Dans and Luns headed to Thailand and I headed back to Shitty-U to finish up some finals and explore my last few days in the city.

Showing Off My City

Mom and I finally made it back to Hong Kong after a long day spent in Shanghai airport and a really great (surprisingly) Italian meal while we waited for our flight. The rest of my time with Fi was spent exploring Hong Kong (even a few places I haven't been to) and just catching up on missed time this semester.

As our hotel was close to Temple Street we did a little more shopping there and also had some fabulous cocktails in Aqua Bar with some fabulous company. The chocolate martinis and cosmos went down very smoothly! 'Fi also smuggled pizza in her purse into the bar for Haley (Paisianos was a delicious dinner and I'm sad I just found it before leaving)!

Pizza smuggler

 

I also managed to squeeze in my first Hong Kong laser light show on the Harbour which (as I've heard) wasn't anything too spectacular, but I definitely will miss the HK skyline. Why locals felt the need to make some lasers dance around on the already brilliant buildings is beyond me.

We also managed to climb the thousands of steps to the 10,000 Buddha monastery. I had a lot of fun imitating the hundreds of Buddha statues on the way up which made the grueling climb a little more enjoyable.

Another first was the Tung Chung cable car. The views were spectacular even on a cloudy day and Mom managed to brave her fears and make the entire trip.

After a busy few day of exploring Fi and I decided to take it easy on her last day in town. We went and saw the gigantic duck in TST, strolled through central where I showed mom Mo Man Temple and we traveled the entire length of midlevels, explored Mong Kok and walked through all of the different markets, found the botanical gardens and saw some very cute orangutans, and finally we went to The Peninsula for afternoon tea!

The tea was definitely a highlight and something to knock off of my HK bucket list. The finger sandwiches were delicious and the scones with clotted cream were relatively close to the real thing. Mom's trip was so much fun! I loved showing her my temporary home and we got to experience a lot of "firsts" together. I was sad to see her go but in two short weeks i'll be back stateside!

Wonders of the World

Today was by far one of the best days in Beijing. Today I visited the Great Wall of China! Because navigating China without much Mandarin knowledge is a little challenging Mom and I signed up for another tour. This time our tour schedule included:

1. The Ming Tombs
2. A Jade Factory
3. Lunch
4. The Great Wall
5. Mr. Tea tea house
6. Olympic venues- the birds nest and water cube

The Ming Tombs weren't much to look at but the story behind their construction was actually really interesting. The Emperor Zhu Di ordered construction of the tombs during his reign. The tombs lay on a huge 40 square kilometer area with mountains surrounding the 13 tombs for different emperors and their empress. Layout of the imperial tombs follow Feng Shui because of the surrounding geography of mountains, a deep valley, and flowing water. We were only able to walk "into" one of the tombs. Basically each tomb is actually just a giant mound of dirt, but on top/close to each burial site are large buildings with 6 meter thick walls that act as protection to all the valuables that were buried with the emperor.

Gate between life and the after-life

Offerings

 

The tombs were a nice break from the bustle of the city and the lack of crowds at the tombs when we visited made it possible to take a full stride without running into another person. The grounds were extremely peaceful and our tour guide Jaime showed us how great the Chinese really are at knock offs- around the ground were fake trees! The fake cement trees held up crooked branches of real trees above. The replication was unbelievable!

Part cement, part bark

After the tombs we headed to a jade factory which was yet another tourist trap. Didn't make any purchases. We also ate lunch at the factory which again was not great. Finally after all the pit stops we were on our way to the Great Wall of China. Our tour guide filled the 45 minute drive with lots of interesting facts. First of all he told us that only 1/3 of the wall is in good condition. This actually isn't surprising at all when you consider the fact that the wall is over 5,500 miles long! That's more than the distance from St. Louis to London! 

We arrived at the wall and made the short walk to its entrance. Although we were at a spot that is often visited it is still awful to see a Subway among the restaurants and coffee shops you can choose from... 

Overall the wall was amazing. The stairs were extremely steep and a bit of a workout, but the views were worth the hike! 

Tired from all the steps we got back in our bus and headed to Olympic park. Before we were able to see the birds nest and water cube we had to do the obligatory tourist trap stop at Mr. Teas tea house. Again, no purchases.

Our tour did not actually stop outside the venues, but instead we stopped and had to climb a hill up the side of a highway bridge... it was definitely interesting.

After a long day we got back to the hotel and got Pizza Hut...again. The food is killing me here. Tomorrow will be a relaxing morning and a flight out to Shanghai in the afternoon and Hong Kong in the evening.

Bartering in Beijing

Without any scheduled plans today Fi and I took the opportunity to sleep in, get a good breakfast, and explore on our own.

We headed back to Tiananmen Square with the intention of visiting the Chairman Mao mausoleum. The lines were ridiculous and we had much more fun people watching in the square.

Split pants!

After people watching we took a trip to the pearl market which was absolutely insane! It is basically a ladies market on steroids. There was everything you could imagine from phone cases, watches, scarves, etc. We had a lot of fun bartering and buying presents. Its always interesting to see how low the vendors will really go, and my time in Asia has definitely improved my bartering. One lady initially asked 380 for a picture and as we walked away slashed her price to 80. ridiculous.While trying to get a taxi after shopping (which is always a struggle in Beijing), a man tried to rip us off and charge 400 Yuan for a 20 Yuan ride.

We took a short rest and then explored close to the hotel as we had some time to kill before our dinner reservation at Da Dong Peking duck restaurant. We spent some time walking around the local grocery store which was entertaining. None of the products were anything too different to what i'd seen in my other travels, but seeing all of the food I know (oreos, pringles, lays) with Mandarin characters over the packaging was very different and cool to see. 

One of the best meals I've had in a long time was tonight at Da Dong. Beijing is famous for its roast duck aka  Peking duck. Our concierge had helped us make reservations in the morning and we ended up getting one of the best seats in the house! We sat right next to the chefs and the duck ovens and ate until we were completely stuffed. Not only did we have a fabulous meal we also enjoyed a little food entertainment. We got to watch the chef carve the duck in front of us, had an almond jelly dessert with some form of pop-rocks inside, and had strawberries served on dry ice. Overall the meal was fantastic and I have not seen Fi eat more Asian food in one sitting than at Da Dong. Leo our tour guide from Monday offered some great insight into Asian cuisine and the quote explains why I've been struggling with food over here: "The only thing Asians don't eat with legs is a table, and the only thing they don't eat with wings is an airplane". Pretty much sums up my food experience here. 

The menu was a short novel of 160 pages